


Back From The Edge

by http_kogane



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Depression, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Keith (Voltron), Insecure Lance (Voltron), M/M, Mutual Pining, Singer AU, Substance Abuse, Touch-Starved Keith (Voltron), klance, past toxic relationships, there’s fluff too I swear!!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 14:31:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15665106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/http_kogane/pseuds/http_kogane
Summary: “I can't be anything without you, don't you know, It's a shame~” Keith’s head was swimming, not only was this guy ridiculously attractive, but he could actually sing. His voice was sweet and his transitions were smooth. The song felt like it fit Lance, he seemed like the bubbly type. Lance had been scanning the crowd with his eyes, he stopped on Keith.“Cause we go together, just like jam and bread or maybe birds of a feather~” Keith’s breath caught in his throat and heat rose from his neck to the apples of his cheeks. Lance just smiled. He winked as he sang and Keith was sure that he was dead.—or the one where Keith, a struggling singer with more demons than he knows what to do with, meets Lance, the bubbly bar singer with a few demons of his own. eventually they come to understand each other.





	Back From The Edge

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y’all! So this is my first proper klance fic on AO3, I hope you all enjoy lmao
> 
> A few things before we get into the fic tho
> 
> 1) this fic is based mostly on James Arthur, a British pop singer who won the X Factor UK in 2012. you may know him by his popular song, ‘Say You Won’t Let Go’ that came out in 2016. I thought his story was so interesting and when listening to his 2016 album ‘Back From the Edge’ I was suddenly struck with the idea of Keith writing the songs. So that’s where the story derived from! 
> 
> 2) this story is marked as Mature not because of any explicit sexual content, but because this fic is gonna talk about some mature themes ie. substance abuse, emotional turmoil, depressive moods, and suicial thoughts/actions. There will be TW in the beginning notes for all the chapters containing triggering content though. 
> 
> 3) this fic will have a lot of flashbacks as the story takes place in present day but it centers around Keith’s past. In the flashbacks there will be mentions of past toxic relationships. Klance is definitely endgame though so you don’t have to worry about that! 
> 
> 4) finally, this fic is almost completely planned out so as much as I appreciate suggestions and constructive criticism, the direction of the story is already in place and I don’t plan on changing any big details!! 
> 
> Okay! That’s all I have for now! Enjoy and feel free to leave constructive criticism, I don’t have a beta so you can point out grammatical errors lmao

“Oi, ‘nother drink?”

Keith nods his head lightly. He’d only had about three drinks so far and his head was feeling slightly fuzzy. He wa supposed to be in the studio early the next day for a writing session so he wasn’t looking to get fucked up. He’d probably leave after the next round. 

“Here ya go man.” Keith took the ‘Spicy Sandstorm’ from him with only a little bit of regret. He held up his pinky finger with a wobbly smile playing on his lips, “Thanks Thace, I’m cutting myself off now I swear.”

“Mhmm, I’ve heard that before.” Thace chuckled good naturedly but Keith still felt vaguely sick at implication causing a grimace to make its way over his face. He let the wobbly smile grace his features again but Thace had already moved on to a woman a few seats down. The cup in his hand felt like 10 steps in the wrong direction and suddenly he wasn’t sure he’d be able to drink it anymore. 

The familiar ring of mic interference caught his attention. Blade Of Marmora was his favorite bar because a) it's the only bar that will make him a ‘Spicy Sandstorm’ -and do it right- and b) it has an open mic every weekend. Most people show up to sing on Saturdays so Keith makes sure to show up as often as he can. He had to be in the studio the day before though, so he had to skip out on his usual Saturday night. Hardly anyone performs on Sunday so it’s a pleasant surprise to hear the mic.

“Alright, alright, alright! How’s it goin’ y’all?” Ezor was on the mic tonight. Kolivan told him that Ezor, Acxa, and Zethrid went through a rotation for who would be on the mic every week. Ezor always enjoyed the job the most though so she almost always offered to do it regardless of the rotation. 

“Tonight we have a special treat! I can vouch that this guy is extremely talented and extremely hot! Please welcome my good friend Lance!” Keith groaned a bit. Every single time Ezor “vouched” for a person they ended up being really shitty. He had hoped for some good music. He let out a discontented sigh and took a sip of his drink. 

“Uh, hey! I’m uh, Lance and I’m gonna sing a couple songs if you don’t mind.” Keith looked up and was momentarily shocked by what he saw. On the small stage stood a man that looked to be around Keith’s age. He stood tall, his shoulders back and knees locked. His legs seemed to go on and on in his tight black skinny jeans and his torso was accentuated in his tight navy blue shirt. Keith’s mouth went dry at the sight of him. 

“I’m gonna sing a song I listened to a lot in high school because that shit slaps.” Keith is so busy ogling him that he almost forgets why Lance is on the stage at all. A few people in the crowd whooped and cheered. Lance smiled -grinned is probably a better word- so wide his eyes crinkled at the side. He was beautiful. Keith was still gaping at him when the music started. He vaguely recognized it, a jaunty tune that had to have came out a couple years before this guy was in high school. 

“I can't be anything without you, don't you know, It's a shame~” Keith’s head was swimming, not only was this guy ridiculously attractive, but he could actually sing. His voice was sweet and his transitions were smooth. The song felt like it fit Lance, he seemed like the bubbly type. Lance had been scanning the crowd with his eyes, he stopped on Keith.

“Cause we go together, just like jam and bread or maybe birds of a feather~” Keith’s breath caught in his throat and heat rose from his neck to the apples of his cheeks. Lance just smiled. He winked as he sang and Keith was sure that he was dead. He refused to believe that Lance would ever take an interest in him even if it’s just a fleeting flirty gesture. Lance went back to scanning the crowd with infinitely more confidence than he started with. 

“I can't be anything without you, don't you know, It's a shame. I can't be anything without you~” The bar erupted with applause and praise. Lance bowed and shot finger guns at a group of girls. “I hope you all enjoyed that song, it’s one of my favorites!” The crowd murmured in affirmation making Lance smile impossibly wider. 

“I’m going to sing one more song tonight before I scram, I think you’ll like this one as well.” Lance was practically dripping with euphoria, Keith noticed that his stance had changed. He was looser, his long limbs swaying as he talked and he had a slight bend in the knee. “It’s a bit different from the song I just sang. And when I say a bit different I mean a totally different genre, but I like it so that’s that.” 

The music started and Keith couldn’t recognize the beat. The bar however, exploded with cheers at just the backing track. Keith was intrigued to say the least. Lance was nodding on stage with an easy smile on his face, eyes closed. He stepped up to the mic stand and put both hands around the mic. 

“I got too many girls on hold, for you to be so bold. Too many on my team for you to act so mean~” Lance’s voice sounded like he was meant to sing that song. His eyes were still closed but he continued to sway with such ease that Keith was almost jealous. He could never take control of a crowd like that. He’d always felt slightly out of place on the stage. But Lance? Lance looked right at home. Keith couldn’t figure out what he was doing singing in a bar to a little less than 50 people. Lance could easily be a recording artist with a range like the one he was displaying as he hit a high note. 

“I’m calling all my lovelies, cause I can’t get a hold of you! Since you ain’t thinking of me, oh look what you’re making me do!~” Lance made eye contact with Keith again and Keith was so startled by the intensity of his stare that he choked on his drink. Behind the bar Thace -when did he even get there?- let out a hearty laugh. “He’s quite the looker ain’t he?” Mirth shone in his eyes as he slapped Keith’s back as if to stop his coughing fit. But if Keith was honest, the slapping didn’t really help, it just hurt a bit. 

“There’s a pain in my chest I cannot explain! I told myself I wasn’t gon’ cry, then somebody’s gotta come dry these eyes!~” Keith’s eyes widened as Lance hit the the high note. It was so clean, something that even Keith doubted he could pull off. Lance’s eyes kept finding their way to Keith’s throughout the rest of the song. Each time their eyes met Keith felt his heart rate skyrocket. He felt silly for getting so worked up over a man singing in a bar. 

“How much do I owe you tonight Thace?” He had to get out of there before he did something stupid, like ask Lance for his number. Keith had his wallet out already pulling out his card when Lance hit the final note. 

“Well, with you drinking our shittiest scotch but our most expensive gin, your at $54.60.” Keith groaned but handed over his card anyway. Around him the room was loud, everyone was cheering again. Lance was grinning again and a blush bloomed across his cheeks. Keith could hardly look away as Lance bowed again and reached for the mic. “Thank you! It’s been a pleasure singing for you fine fine~ people.” 

Thace gave Keith’s card back as Lance practically purred into the mic. Thace laughed at Keith’s flustered state again before waving goodbye. When he made it outside he leaned against the cool brick of the bar. He took a minute to just breathe and calm down. Lance and his voice were swimming around Keith’s brain and he was angry at himself. He sighed before hailing a cab to get home. 

He needed to sleep, hopefully the alcohol in his system would make it easier to do so. He doubted it. He just wanted to forget the night. To forget Lance.

**Author's Note:**

> Songs In This Chapter: 
> 
> Birds of a feather by The Rosenbergs 
> 
> Calling all my lovelies by Bruno Mars
> 
>  
> 
> come say hi on tumblr @http-kogane :^)


End file.
